Hopper frame for sliding door of a railway dump car



March 20, 1956 G. B. DOREY HOPPER FRAME FOR SLIDING DOOR OF A RAILWAY DUMP CAR 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Nov. 18, 1949 INVENTOR. 560/965 D0r% March 20, 1956 G. B. DOREY HOPPER FRAME FOR SLIDING DOOR OF A RAILWAY DUMP CAR 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Nov. 18, 1949 0 MD V 7 NM. QN mm m5 1 ttiti 8 mm my a N G. B. DOREY March 20, 1956 HOPPER FRAME FOR SLIDING DOOR OF A RAILWAY DUMP CAR 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed Nov. 18, 1949 u I/llll VIII/Ill ll L m u INVENTOR.

N George/55mg W W HOPPER FRAME FOR SLIDING DOOR OF A RAILWAY DUMP CAR George B. Dorey, Westmount, Quebec, Canada, assignor to Enterprise Railway-Equipment Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois 4 Claims. or. 105-282) This invention relates to an improved supporting means for the sliding closure for the discharge opening of a load containing hopper. This application is a division of application Serial No. 128,208, filed November 18, 1949, now Patent No. 2,640,439, issued June 2, 1953.

Among the objects of this invention are: The provision of a construction for a sliding closure which will contain only a limited number of moving parts and be comparatively light in weight and of rugged construction; and to provide a frame having main runways on which the closure is adapted to slide and extension runways adapted to support the gate in open position with the extension runways lying in planes different from those in which the main runways lie.

For a more complete understanding of the nature and scope of this invention reference can be had to the following detailed description, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a top plan view of the frames about the openings of a pair of hoppers, the gates for closing the same and the mechanism for opening and closing them;

Figure 2 is a view, partly in side elevation and partly in section showing the application of the invention to a pair of discharge hoppers;

Figure 3 is a detail sectional view taken generally along the line 3-3 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

This invention is shown as applied to a hopper car having hoppers disposed above the space between the rails one of which is shown at 9 in Figure 3 of the drawings. In the drawings the present invention is shown in connection with a pair of hoppers disposed between the rails and spaced longitudinally of the car from each other. In Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings the reference character 10 indicates one of the sides of the center sill of the car having a laterally outwardly extending lower marginal flange 11. The lower portion of one of the car side walls is indicated at 12 which is spaced outwardly from the center sill to accommodate discharge hoppers 13 therebetween. Each hopper 13 is defined in part by oppositely facing transversely extending walls 14 and 15 meeting with and uniting with oppositely sloping longitudinally extending outer and inner walls as indicated at 16 and 17, respectively, the latter being formed with a bulge 17' to extend around the lower flange 11 of the center sill and thus facilitate the placement of the discharge opening well away from the car side wall 12 and directly above the space between the rails 9;

The discharge area of each hopper 13 is bordered by a four-sided frame A having a discharge opening 18 and a sliding closure or gate B for closing the opening 18. The frame A above the closure B includes an upper attaching section including walls 19, 20, 21, and 22 overlying and secured to the walls 14, 15, 16, and 17 of the hopper respectively.

Below the closure or gate B the frame A is formed United States Patent 2,738,738 Patented Mar. 20, 1956 ice with a four-sided chute-like depending structure including end walls 23 and 24 and side walls 25 and 26. The end wall 23 and side walls 25 and 26 are spaced inwardly from the corresponding upper walls 20, 21, and 22 to provide a horizontally disposed three-sided platform including side and end runways as indicated at 27 and 28, respectively, for supporting the closure or gate B in closed position. The end wall 24 includes an upper horizontally extending ledge 29 which extends transversely below the gate B.

Extending around the lower margin of the chute-like portion there is a horizontally disposed structure including flanges 3d and 31 on two adjacent sides and U-shaped grooves 32 and 33 on the other two adjacent sides, the two latter sides constituting openings for receiving a removable extension chute (not shown) which is adapted to be positioned in the opening 18 to bear against the flanges 30 and 31 to be clamped thereto.

The gate B is adapted to slide lengthwise of the frame A on the side runways 27 and beyond them are provided extension rails 34 for supporting the gate B in open position. These extension rails 34 are disposed laterally inwardly of the frame A. The walls 35 are preferably disposed in alignment with and form continuations of the respective vertical side walls 25 and 26 of the opening 18 through the frame A. Since the extension rails 34 are disposed laterally inwardly from the main supporting platforms or runways 27 of the frame A, instead of following the conventional custom of disposing them as continuations of the frame bearing surfaces, this construction has the efliect of allowing such accumulations of grit or lading as may find its way beneath the gate B to be dislodged over the ends of the frame runways 27 as the gate B is opened.

The outer ends of the extension rails 34 may be supported in any suitable manner. The preferred construction has the rails 34 extended between and supported by the adjacent frames A of a pair of hoppers 13.

The gate B is adapted to be moved longitudinally by means of a removable lever L, Figure 3, such as a crowbar acting upon a series of movable and stationary fulcrums carried by the gate B and hopper 13, respectively, as indicated generally at 36 and 37 respectively in Figures 1, 2, and 3. Since this operating mechanism is described fully in Patent No. 2,640,439 no further description will be set forth herein.

In order to confine the movement of the gate B to a straight linepath there are provided depending lugs 49, Figure 3, at each side for engagement with the inner edges 50 of the extension rails 34.

The gate B is secured in closed position by means of an angle shaped bolt 51 which is mounted for axial movement and lies adjacent the outer end of each of the gates B at one side thereof. Since the locking means, including the bolt 51, is described in Patent No. 2,640,439, reference may be had thereto for a further description thereof.

Since certain further changes can be made in the foregoing construction and difierent embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is intended that all matter shown in the accompanying drawings and described hereinbefore shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed as new is:

1. For combination with a load containing hopper having a discharge opening, a frame bordering said opening and having runways on opposite sides, a gate for closing said opening with its edges supported by said runways in closed position, and extension runways for supporting said gate in the open position, said extension runwzg a 3 being spaced laterally inwardly from said runways on said frame, the portions of the under surface of said gate contacted by said runways an said'frame being ofiset outwardly from the portions thereof contacted by said extension runways 7 2. For combination with a load containing hopper having a discharge opening, a gate for closing said opening, a supporting frame for said gate bordering said opening and having a discharge chute below said gate including side Walls with platform runways extending laterally outwardly thereof to support said gate in closed position, and extension runways projecting beyond said frame and laterally inwardly of its side walls for supporting said gate in open position, the portions of the under surface of said gate contacted by said runways on said frame being offset outwardly from the portions thereof contacted by said extension runways. I

3. The invention, as set forth in claim 2, wherein each extension runway has a vertical attaching wall disposed in substantially the same vertical plane as the corresponding side wall and constituting an extension thereof.

'4. In a discharge outlet for the lower portion of a load containing hopper havinga discharge opening and a frame at the opening and a sliding gate carried by said frame for closing the opening, said frame having supporting runways underlying the gate at each side of the opening for supporting said gate when the latter is positioned in the opening; and extension rail membersprojecting forwardly beyond the frame for supporting the gate in open position, said rail members being spaced laterally from said runways so as to engage and support said gate on the underside thereof at locations laterally spaced from the portions thereof engaged by said runways.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,484,764 Dodd Feb. 26, 1924 2,020,863 Willoughby Nov. 12, 1935 2,142,236 Campbell Ian. 3, 1939 2,250,524 Dietri'chson July 29, 1941 2,340,519 Dorey Feb. 1, 1944 2,385,245 WillOughbY Sept. 18, l945 

